Near the start of Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, the President stated that under his leadership, Americans would achieve so much that they’d grow weary of it.
“Our nation is achieving success once again,” Trump bragged. “In truth, we’re winning to such an extent that we really don’t know how to deal with it.”
As evidence of the nation’s winning trajectory, he then invited the U.S. men’s national hockey team, “who had just made the entire country proud,” into the House chamber following their victory at the 2026 Winter Olympics final in Milan on Sunday. FBI Director was present in their locker room after the final.
Trump spoke about how thrilling the game was for him to watch, specifically highlighting Connor Hellebuyck’s performance, stating he’d “never witnessed a goaltender play as excellently as” Hellebuyck did. Hellebuyck blocked 41 shots for the U.S. in goal.
“I asked him, ‘That one shot where you put your stick on the back and it hit the neck of your stick and bounced off, did you practice that or was that a bit lucky?’” Trump said. “He refused to answer that question.”
Trump then announced that he would soon present Hellebuyck with the U.S. government’s highest civilian honor: the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Previous athlete recipients of the medal include golfer Tiger Woods, basketball players Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and baseball legend Willie Mays.
“Great athletes have received this—very great, the best—and I thought he deserved it,” Trump said of Hellebuyck. “What an outstanding job you did and what extraordinary champions you are.”
Trump also acknowledged the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team, who also Trump stated that the women’s team—which had Trump’s invitation to attend the State of the Union, with a USA Hockey spokesperson “previously scheduled academic and professional commitments after the Games”—will visit the White House “soon.”
